In 1968, the same year Cohen exhibited 'New Paintings' at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, he relocated to the U.S, to San Diego where he was to assume the role of visiting lecturer at the University of California. There, a chance encounter set him on a path of learning to programme and in April 1969 he wrote to Jasia Reichardt, friend and curator, “I am now myself a competent programmer, and have just finished my first set of completely computerised paintings.”

This early introduction to programming was hugely significant upon Cohen’s career. He became profoundly interested in the relationship between the machine and its users, and the ideas prompted by this new medium were to drive his practice for the rest of his life.

Untitled (i23-3459), 1968-1974, hails from this early period and is one of the very first computer- based artworks Cohen ever created. Appearing as a tilted rhombus decorated with a variety of coloured patterns, the work is constructed by a background of single digits on technical paper. Working with the programme DITRAN, an iteration of ASA Basic FORTRAN, Cohen developed a code which produced the numbers on the paper. Taking coloured pens, he then grouped the digits together, encircling them with corresponding colours and utilising the code as a rule guide on how to categorise and group the digits. Titled ‘Contour Maps’, these works are emblematic of Cohen’s evolving symbiotic relationship with the machine. Untitled (i23-3459) remains a critical work in Cohen’s oeuvre, representing the convergence of his pre-existing interests, in language and modes of communication, with this new digital medium.

An example of similar work can also be found in the Victoria & Albert Museum Collection.